Three quarter lighting is probably the most widely use in painting because of its dramatic impression. Many of the old master painters like Rembrandt, John Singer Sargent, Ander Zorn also prefer three quarter lighting when painting portraits. These portraits are painted with light coming from about forty-five degrees in front of the model. The light reaches most of the visible form, leaving only a fraction of the form in shadow. The light can be low enough to illuminate both eyes.

three quarter lighting

In the woman’s portrait below, the main light casts a shadow lightly side of the face from nose onto cheek and lower lip onto chin. This general pattern is basically sample of three quarter lighing. The light emphasizes the nearer or broader side of the face.

Three quarter lighting

About The Author

Xia Taptara -
Xia Taptara (黃曉聲 Huang XiaoShēng), currently a freelance concept artist for games and films, formerly a character concept artist for ArenaNet/NCsoft (GuildWars & Guildwars 2). I also work on various projects for Game of Thrones, Square-Enix, Paizo Publishing, Fantasy Fight Games, Disney Interactive, and many publishers & clients. I use Wacom Tablet Intuos and Photoshop CS2,3,4,5 to do most of my professional art work. I use pencil, pen, and traditional medium in my free time. I founded IdrawGirls.com (TheArtClasses.com) in 2007 to motivate myself to create more and better art. Also I get to draw and paint whatever the hell I want to. Hopefully I can inspired some young soul and old soul alike.
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